For the Country

A new theatre company has arisen with a bold but reachable dream because the rep of the people behind it bodes well for its success. Co-founder and Tony Awardee Clint Ramos presents Theatre Group Asia

- Chit L Lijauco

Talking before 400 students to promote the forthcoming production of Request sa Radyo (RSR), Clint Ramos, the creative director and producer of the provocative one-woman, wordless adaptation of Franz Xaver Kroetz’s Request Concert, called the world of theatre “an isle of misfits”. Then, he immediately added his secret for survival: “Find your people [among these misfits], stick with them and create art together”.

The first person of colour to win a Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Play (Eclipsed, 2016) has definitely found his people, and on top of his list would most likely be the late Bobby Garcia. With Garcia, along with Samsung Performing Arts Theater Executive Director Christopher Mohnani, Ramos created amazing art such as RSR and co-founded the production company Theatre Group Asia (TGA).

Its website proudly shouts an artistic mission with a strong patriotic undertone.

“We present world-class theatre that brings the global dramatic canon to life, while placing the Filipino experience at its heart. Through theatre, we honour the depth and richness of our history and culture, creating a space where Filipinos resonate within a global context.

“TGA strives to produce works led by Filipino creatives and performed by artists of Filipino heritage, with a commitment to engaging Filipino audiences and fostering connections within the international theatre community.”

According to Ramos, the formation of TGA “came about organically”. The original collaborators Garcia, Ramos and Mohnani all had what Ramos calls “a great time” producing the play, which he labels more accurately as a “hybrid of theatre and performance art”. Working together (Ramos, production designer; Garcia, director; Mohnani, management and logistics; plus John and Joanna Echauz, co-producers), they “found a particular space that we can inhabit in the Philippine theatre ecosystem”.